My mom wants me to keep a shark

[Amphiprion]

There are 2 sharks that can live, and be somewhat comfortable in a 150gal. tank. They are the Banded Cat Shark and Marbled Cat Shark. They grow to an average of 40"Very cute, and active as babies, but here are 2 things that the fish store doesnt tell you.

In captivity, 50% to 75% of them die within the first month by starving themselves to death. It's not the owners fault, it's just that naturally, they dont know to start eating. And IF they do eventually eat, it's already too late for them to survive. This happens frequently in the wild as well. They are just incredibly hard to get to eat. Frequently, even force feeding doesnt work (trust me, I've tried). I had my newly hatched Banded Cat Shark for 4 weeks before he died from starvation. My fish store actually told me that it would be hard to get him eating, but I thought..."ahhh, it cant be that hard. He'll eat when he gets hungry.".

The second thing is light. Most fish keepers have decent lighting (florescent) to superb lighting (metal halides, etc.). Sharks require VERY low light. Even florescent is too much for them, that's why they're mainly active at night. What's the fun in keeping a large fish tank that has to have extraordinarily low light?

Other than those 2 species, there are NO other sharks that you can keep in anything less that a 1000gal. to 10,000gal. tank. Alot of people get Horn Sharks...these grow to 6 feet. Blacktip Reef Sharks and Whitetip Reef Sharks, although absolutely gorgeous, can grow to 7+ feet.

While I agree that you shouldn't keep a shark unless you have more experience and a much larger system, I can't agree with all of the information above.

First, neither of those species will be very comfortable at all in 150 gallons. An "odd" dimensioned tank or round tub of at least 250 gallons is necessary for both of those species--that is the minimum considering their size. There is only one species that can be kept in smaller tanks, but you'll rarely ever find it--Orectolobus wardi, or Ward's wobbegong. This species only reaches ~24" and it is even more sedentary than the epaulette/bamboo sharks. It needs at least 180 gallons, preferably a bit wider.

Second, no bright lighting? All of the mentioned sharks are (very) shallow water species. They may or may not always be active during the day (more so at night), but are perfectly able to handle higher intensity light, especially if provided with caves, overhangs, etc. That is just a gross overgeneralization/misconception.

The rest, however, I can agree with.

 

[chefjamesscott]

sweeet post though i would have to agreee make sure that you have all that you can know about this one down pat

cowtown a local fish store here had a 3000g with a tip shark of some kind but they made a horrific mistake of leaving remnants of its food in the tank after it had eaten and the water balance went wacko an it died but would love to see a tank with a shark

 

[fsn77]

I wouldn't encourage anyone to buy a shark for a home aquarium. Much like tigers and bears, sharks are far better off in the wild than as someone's pet.

 

[JesterAAK]

The 58,000 gallon shark tank we have at work is scary enough to deal with. Keeping these animals healthy at home would be a nightmare.

Read up on the hobby, start small, work your way up. Sharks are best left to public AQs and the wild.

 

[SchizotypalVamp]

lolz, I was just quoting the info in the sticky.

 

[Amphiprion]

lolz, I was just quoting the info in the sticky.

I know. I was just expressing my discontent with the info contained therein--absolutely nothing against you, so please don't feel as though I directed that at you.

 

[Artemis JT]

"True" Sharks (true meaning not the freshwater cyprinids and catfish often referred to as sharks, but the real deal), are for those who put in hours of their day into the hobby, and can afford and maintain BIG tanks. Sharks really shouldn't be imported as 99% percent of sharks die in captivity within the the first year, most people have no idea what's on their hands when keeping a shark. They require large tanks with lots of specialized equipment.

Animals best left for the wild.

 

[Humhill]

Just tell her you'll need a 5000 gal tank and the total cost should be about $15K, but you'd be more than happy to keep a shark for her if she wants to get all that....
That should get her off your back....